I'll Always Find You - As Long As You Love Me
by Slytherin Cat
Summary: When Lily opened the door, she didn't expect to find her husband dead. When she opened her eyes, she didn't expect his body to be gone and a bloody message to be left in its place: Let's play. But what is the game? And what would she win? AU, no magic.
1. Chapter 1

_Word count:_ 1542

**Chapter 1**

Humming softly, Lily put the bags of groceries she had just bought on the floor, going through her pockets until she found her keys. She pushed the door open with her foot while she tried to make sure none of purchases fell down. She had bought enough food to last her and James a week, and she didn't have the courage to clean her floor should something break now.

She had met James almost seven years ago, when she had transferred to Hogwarts for her two last years of High School.

Hogwarts was a private school in Scotland and though she had hated having to leave her family behind in London, she also had known her public school just hadn't been what she needed. Leaving her friends behind had been as hard as leaving her family, but everyone had agreed it would be best for her to leave for a better school. In fact, her best friend had already moved away in the summer, so staying wouldn't have been as great as before anyway.

This new school had been the weirdest school Lily had ever been to but despite the fact that the school was actually a castle, life hadn't changed much for her. She had easily befriended the girls she shared a dorm with and the school had soon turned out to be exactly the kind of challenge she had needed and missed.

She had found herself in the same House as James – they had been created to encourage friendly rivalry between students, and each House had its own specialties, subjects they favored – and though she had loved it, the same couldn't be said of the young man who had spent two years trying to catch her attention in all the stupidest ways possible.

At the time he had been everything she hated and she hadn't been able to stand him. It wasn't until he finally understood that his attitude was working against him and he stopped acting like the playboy he admittedly was that Lily began to consider him as nice.

Nowadays, everyone told them all about how good they looked together and how it seemed they were made for each other, but back then, there had hardly been a day when the two of them didn't end up having a shouting match for their entire Tower to hear. It always made them laugh to see people's head when James told them that things hadn't always been that easy between them.

Still humming, Lily managed to drag herself from her memories as she finished putting everything she had bought in their brand-new kitchen. They had moved in not two months ago – a gift from James' parents for their long awaited wedding – and Lily was still getting used to the two-storey house.

Finally everything was done, and she wandered toward the living room in search for her husband. His parents never had a television and when he had discovered that he could easily install one in their home, he had done so and since then often spent hours watching stupid programs – and that was when he was alone. If Sirius, his best friend, came, then there was absolutely no hope for Lily to get them away from whatever soccer match they ended up watching.

Lily ended up watching them with a desperate air, while talking to their only sane friend, Remus Lupin. Fortunately, James' job as a policeman didn't let him a lot of time to watch sports on TV, and Lily was sure that once the novelty of having his own TV had worn out he would be back to normal. At least he had nothing against watching rented movies with her, and even Lily had to admit that it was easier than to go out to a cinema and hope they'd get good places.

The door to the living-room was closed, though, and when she opened it she was surprised to see it empty. Rolling her eyes, she moved back to where she had left her bag to fetch her phone. If James had once again ended up in some mischief with his friends, she'd never let him see the end of it, not when he had told her he'd be back before her. Which actually meant he owed her money – again. You'd think he would have learned he couldn't win a bet against her in all the years he had tried.

Three rings, and then his voice telling her he wasn't available for now, and that if it was important she should leave a message. Knowing it would be no use to do so since seeing a missed call on his phone would be enough warning for him, she hang up and tried Sirius' number.

He didn't answer either, but this time she left a message that went along the lines of 'if you know where my husband is, please tell him that I'm waiting for him".

Sighing, she looked at the clock and then back at her phone. It wouldn't hurt to try again, now would it? Her fingers composed the now familiar numbers, but this time she heard something. It was a very familiar tune, but it didn't come from her phone. Instead, it came from upstairs. Had James once again forgotten his phone? It was no surprise she couldn't get a hand on him then…

There wasn't really anything she could do but wait for him to come home, so she set to go find his phone. That way she would be sure the next time he left the house he'd have it with him.

She called again, and followed the sound to their bedroom. The corridor wasn't long, but the room they had chosen was at its end and there unfortunately wasn't any light that didn't come from half yellowed neon that they had promised themselves to change soon.

Perhaps it was because said lights were dim and currently flickering, or perhaps it was because she was so used to walking that corridor and was busy watching her phone, but when she reached the closed door to their room, she didn't notice that there was red on the floor. After all, the flooring they had chosen was quite dark and she had no reason to look down.

It wasn't until she opened the door, stepped on their light carpet and saw red footprints where her shoes had been that she noticed something was wrong. She turned around, her heart beating faster against her chest and the phone with which she had been ready to call again slipped out of her hand as she took in the sight of her dead husband's broken body.

There was blood everywhere. Somehow he had been pinned against the door in a way that hadn't hindered her opening it and she stepped closer, trying to will the scene she was seeing into disappearing. It just wasn't possible. James couldn't be gone, not now, not ever.

Then her brain noticed what her eyes were seeing and she screamed. She scrambled as far away from the door as she could, her fingers opening and closing on emptiness uselessly as she struggled to breath. Her eyes were burning with tears and her limbs felt heavy, but she somehow managed to call Sirius with her phone before her world faded to black.

When she came around, the room was empty of James' body, but the blood, the red she was seeing everywhere was still there. She slowly got up, leaning heavily on the bedside. Her legs felt like jelly and her mouth was dry and she was ever so thankful when Sirius arrived.

He stayed frozen in the doorstep, his gaze fixed upon something beside her. Slowly she turned around and froze too when she saw the blood red message written on the wall. She didn't scream this time. She was too shocked for that.

_Let's play_

"Sirius?"

"Hm?"

"Call the police."

"Already done, they're coming."

Lily took a deep breath and crossed the room trying not to look at anything. When she arrived by Sirius' side, she flung herself at him and finally cried.

Sirius let her cry for a moment but each time he lifted his head he could see the ravaged room and he just had to know.

"Lily, I'm sorry but… What exactly happened?"

Lily stiffened.

"Do I have to?"

"I know it's hard, but you'll have to say it eventually."

"I… I don't know what happened. I just got here and James was… he was… just lying there-" She gestured toward the open door where there was the biggest blood stain "and I think I fainted because I can't remember anything after that…"

"Lily? There's no body here anymore…"

Lily paled even more, if that was possible.

"But… That means whoever did this was still there when I got home."

Sirius didn't answer, but his hold tightened around Lily, almost like he was trying to convince himself that she was still there and not somewhere dead like James was.

It was how the police found them, people Sirius worked with and James had worked with, and they didn't say anything either as they saw the room and understood from James' absence what had most probably happened.

_**AN/ So I'm once again beginning a multi chaptered story, something I really shouldn't do… But I just couldn't get rid of this idea once it showed up, and I have so many plans for this…**_

_**This was written for the **_

_**-As Strong As We Are United Competition **_

_**- Colors of the Rainbow Drabble/One shot Challenge, Red.**_

_**Please leave a review to tell me what you thought of this.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Word count:_ 1519

**Chapter 2**

The police station seemed different now that she was on the other side of it. Lily knew Sirius had the same feeling. He and James had worked here since they had been accepted two years ago, and Lily had often visited them, but it was the first time they found themselves interrogated as witnesses of a crime and not as the investigator or as a simple visitor.

She was very grateful for Sirius' presence, because that meant she had at least one person with her who wasn't sending her so-called hidden pitying glances. Of course, she knew it was because he was just as destroyed by this loss as she was. He had known James for all his life and though they actually were cousin, they had grown up more as brothers than just cousins.

Right now though, they had been separated for the interrogation. Sirius hadn't seen the body and when he had searched her house for whoever had killed James he hadn't found anything. His coworkers had asked him a few questions, and then he had been free to go. Of course he had decided to stay, in order to see if the team working on the case had found anything and also because he didn't want to feel useless.

Lily was still shocked but she was also the one who was their best lead for now. She had found the body – though the officers working on the case had told her that since it had disappeared they would have to identify who the blood they found belonged to – and when she had told them that the murderer might have still been there when she entered the house, they had begun to question her thoroughly on every little thing she had seen.

She was absolutely freaked out because she had fainted for around half an hour, during which her husband's body had disappeared, and there was no proof apart from the blood and the message on the wall that said a crime had been committed there. There were no signs of a break-in on the doors and no one had heard anything, but then no one ever heard anything.

Finally the questions ended and she was allowed to leave. She stopped in front of James' desk on her way out, her gaze fixed on a photo of their wedding that stood there.

"Come on Lils', you can't stay here," Sirius said as he gently moved her toward the exit. "I'll take you home."

Lily laughed humorlessly. "What is a home Sirius?"

Her friend looked taken aback by the question, but he answered nonetheless. "Somewhere you feel safe?"

She nodded slowly, and spoke again. "Yes, but not only. I think home is where the heart is, and my heart just isn't there anymore. Plus, how could I ever feel safe there ever again after _this_ happened?"

The elevator stopped and they exited it without another word. They left the building and stepped in the busy streets of London. The afternoon sun gave a sort of orange glow to their surroundings. Usually Lily would have smiled at the beauty of it, but now the only thing she could think of was how unfair it was for the world to keep on turning. Her heart ached like it wanted to crawl out of her chest and tears were burning behind her eyes but she didn't want to break in the middle of the street.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sirius must have noticed, because there was concern in his eyes as he stopped walking and stood beside her.

"I'm fine," came the automatic answer.

"No you're not," he stated as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You know, I live not far from here. You could stay there for the night… I'll stay on the couch, it doesn't bother me."

Lily gave a half-chocked laugh. "If this is what you stay to your conquests it's a wonder you have so many. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"I'm serious Lily. If you don't want to go back, my door is always open for you."

"And I am too. I think, I think I need to go back. You know, I feel like if I don't do it now I'll never have the courage to..."

"I'm sorry," Sirius blurted out, startling Lily out of her sentence.

"For what?" She asked, confused.

"For everything. I'm sorry. I feel like I should have done something, like I should have been there for him, for you… I should have been there to do something."

"It's not your fault, you know. There's nothing we could have done. Hell, there's nothing I could have done and I was there," Lily retorted.

"But James is like my brother and you're family. I should have felt something! I should have known something would happen…"

"Was there any reason for you to think that something like that would happen?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well no, but I should have…"

"Then there is nothing you could have done." She looked at him, and she saw the anguish in his eyes. "I forgive you Sirius," she said, sensing those were the right words to say.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They walked in silence until they reached Lily's car.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Lily looked through her open window at those words, and a soft smile appeared on her lips as she shook her head softly.

"I don't think it will be necessary. You said they cleared the house, right? I'll be fine. You take care of yourself though Sirius."

"I will. I'll see you soon Lily."

And with that Lily closed the window as Sirius stepped back. The drive back home was quick – the house they had chosen wasn't really far from James' workplace and there wasn't much traffic.

She parked her car and for the second time that day she stood on her porch searching for her keys. Only this time she wasn't humming any song and she wasn't looking forward to what was on the other side of the door.

Finally, she stepped into the big house thankful that at least whatever damage there was wasn't in her immediate sight. Entering was difficult enough; she couldn't imagine how hard it would be for her if the first thing she saw was the crime scene.

It was time to eat, but she didn't have the heart to eat anything. She wasn't hungry, and she had the feeling she wouldn't be able to stomach anything anyway. Instead she sat on the sofa, burying her head in the plaid James always used. His smell was still there, and she already dreaded the day she wouldn't be able to smell it anymore.

She didn't know when she fell asleep like this, but when the sound of her ringing cellphone woke her up night had fallen. For half a second, she wondered why she wasn't in her bed and why her husband wasn't asleep beside her, and then the events of the day came crashing back down on her.

She felt about to cry, but then another ring tore her out of her depressive thoughts. For someone to call her in the middle of the night, it was either important or a false number. She didn't really know what she was hoping for. If it was important, then it might be information about what had happened to James, but did she really want to hear that they had found his body lying somewhere? A false number might be safer for her heart… Well, anyway she had to answer.

She got up quickly, and by the third ring the phone was in her hand, a too familiar caller ID flashing before her eyes. Her heart suddenly in her throat, she flipped it open and put it against her ear.

"Hello? James, is that you?"

Only silence answered her and she looked back at the caller ID. It clearly was saying James Potter, but that was impossible. The phone had been in the room, with his body – it had been what brought her there in the first place – and James was dead, he couldn't be calling her.

Her resolve strengthened and she put the phone back against her ear.

"Whoever is there, this isn't funny!"

And then it wasn't silence anymore. There was breathing on the other end and then a voice.

"Lily?"

The voice was so familiar it hurt, but hearing it now was impossible.

"James?" She asked nonetheless, hating herself for letting hope show in her voice.

"Lily, is that you?"

"Yes, yes it's me. James, what's happening? I don't understand, I thought you were dead?"

Silence again, and then a shuffling sound.

"James?" She asked anxiously.

"Sorry, but James isn't available right now. And whether he will be again is entirely up to you," said a man's voice that definitely wasn't James'.

"Who… Who are you? And what have you done to James?"

"Me? My name is Voldemort. As for what I've done to your precious James? Nothing yet, but as I've said, that depends entirely of you…"

_**AN/ So, what did you think of that? James isn't dead (I couldn't kill him, it's only the beginning after all) and Voldemort appeared…**_

_**Sirius and Lily's talk was probably one of the hardest things I ever wrote, but I quite like how it turned out in the end.**_

_**Please tell me what you thought!**_

_**This was written for the As Strong as We Are United Competition (song) and the Color of the Rainbow OS Challenge (Orange).**_


	3. Chapter 3

_Word count:_ 1715

**Chapter 3**

"_Who… Who are you? And what have you done to James?"_

"_Me? My name is Voldemort. As for what I've done to your precious James? Nothing yet, but as I've said, that depends entirely of you…"_

Lily was suddenly very awake, her mind running through a hundred ideas of what would happen now depending on what she answered. However, in the split second it took her to realize exactly what had been said, her mind was overwhelmed with relief. James was _alive_.

"What… What do you want me to do?" Her mouth was dry and though she knew what she was doing was wrong, she couldn't help it. There was a small chance she could be with her husband again, and she would never forgive herself if she didn't take it.

"For now? Nothing. But Lily, one day I'll ask you to do something for me, and you will do it. And who knows, maybe if you do it right, you'll get to see your husband one more time."

"Why me? Why did you have to take him?"

"Why not? You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you? I know you would."

"I…"

"You wouldn't? Poor James, dead because his wife wouldn't save him… What a shame…"

"Don't you dare touch him!"

"Such fire… I guess that means there is hope for him yet. He will be so relieved to know he can live another day. That is, if you agree to do a few things for me, when I ask you to do them."

Lily didn't answer, her mind too busy thinking of what-ifs and what-could-bes.

"You have nothing to say? This offer won't stay open forever you know. I'd hate to have to part with your charming husband for something as insignificant as your indecision. I heard the Thames was very nice in this season… Do you think he would like to take a swim? Or perhaps we could try something else… What do you think Lily?"

"Please, don't touch him. I'll do it, I'll do anything you ask. Just don't harm him."

"How can I resist when you're asking so nicely? I knew you had it in you Lily," Voldemort said from the other end of the line and Lily couldn't help but shiver in disgust at his tone. He was talking like what she was doing was something to be proud of but in fact Lily had never felt worse in her entire life.

"And when I've done what you want, you'll release him, right?" Lily bit her lips, but even the hope that she may see him again was enough to ease her worries – a little.

"Of course, but as I said, it depends entirely on how well you complete the task I will give you. If you help me, then there is absolutely no reason for me not to help you, don't you think?"

Lily let out a long breath. She could do this.

"Yes, yes, of course you're right. Whatever it is, I'll do it. I told you I would and I will."

"That's great," the man said before he whispered something at someone else. She can't hear what it was, but she waited until he talked to her again. "Oh, and Lily? I trust you won't tell a word of our little chat here? You know how annoying the police can be, and I really don't want to have to deal with them. Who knew what would happen to _James_ if I had to run?"

The menace was clear, and Lily nodded as she answered. "I won't say anything to anyone."

"Good."

The line went silent and Lily was left with week knees and a mind running far too fast to her liking. She sat heavily on the sofa she had been sleeping on until a few minutes ago and stared down at the still opened phone in her hand.

She had been confident on the phone – she had had no other choice but to say yes, to tell that man she would do anything he asked. Of course, she would do anything for James but that's because she loves him. But as she sat still, her eyes staring unseeing through a window, she thought that maybe she had just made a mistake. Not in saving (maybe?) James' life, but in swearing hers to the man who had kidnapped him and talked about murder like it was nothing.

The night lightened slowly, until the sun casted its yellow light on her. It didn't lighten her thoughts however and she was still sitting in the same place when Sirius knocked on her door.

oO-Oo

"Inspector Moody?"

"Yes Frank, what is it?" Moody asked, turning around so he could face the newcomer.

Moody was a war veteran who had lost one of his legs during the Gulf War and so had had to retire. Now, he wore a prosthesis which allowed him to walk almost normally, but the army had understandably refused to take him back. Since he couldn't be a soldier anymore, Moody had decided that policeman would do.

"I did as you asked, with Mrs. Potter's phone and… It was as you said. He called," Frank said nervously. After all, just because he had agreed to put a bug in Lily's phone didn't mean he approved of the initiative. But James had been a good friend of his, and Moody was his superior, and when he said that doing this would help them find what had happened to James, well Frank had no choice but to obey.

"What did he say?" Moody asked, suddenly focused.

"You'll want to hear this," Frank stated as he waved a small disk. He had stayed up all night because Moody had told him Voldemort – if he really was the one behind the whole thing – might call Lily Potter.

It had been boring, and after a while he had really thought nothing would happen, that the message found painted in blood on the bedroom's wall in the Potter's house had been just a coincidence. Of course, just when he had been thinking of going for his four cup of coffee – he needed it to stay awake after all – someone had called Lily.

He had recorded the whole conversation and it really had given him the creeps, to say the least. He had been glad to hear James was alive, because they had become good friends quickly and he always thought the younger man would make an amazing policeman once he became more used to the job. Plus, James and his wife Lily, had been at his wedding, and Lily had been one of Alice's bridesmaid. He also knew the two women had planned to make each other the godmother of any eventual children they'd have.

He wouldn't wish what Lily was going through on anyone and though he knew she wouldn't, he really wished she would come to them for help. Because that's what they were for, helping her. Well, that and getting rid of Voldemort and his organization.

"Thank you, Frank. If this is all, you should go back home. You look like you need the sleep, and if this-" he took the disk and shook it, "means what I think it does, then you will really need it."

Frank didn't leave immediately; he lingered around his desk, taking in the small photography of his wedding day he left here. Beside him stood James, smiling cheerfully at Frank as he clapped his back, the instant frozen on paper.

It was then he knew he had to do something, anything to help his friends. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try at least one thing. But he couldn't go see Lily himself, not immediately at least, especially since it was just after Voldemort had finally made a move. She would be watched and because this affair was important, so would he be.

The sun hadn't begun to set yet when he left the building, but he could see the night was coming to an end. It was looking at the night sky he remembered that James had a friend, another policeman who worked with him, and that this friend wouldn't be watched – because he wasn't on the case.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and rolled down the contact list. He knew it was there somewhere… Ah, there it was. Sirius Black.

Should he call? It still was very early, after all. He hesitated another instant, and then he realized that with the news he would give him, Sirius would surely forgive him for waking him a bit earlier.

"Allo, Sirius? Frank here. I don't know if you remember me, but…"

"Frank? Of course I remember you, but why are you calling me now? Have you seen the hour? It's like five in the morning, couldn't it wait?"

"No it couldn't. Sorry I woke you up, but… Remember this morning when you tried to get assigned to James' case?"

"Of course I do. How could I not remember the fact that my best friend just died and I can't help find the one who did it?" Sirius snapped.

"He's not dead," Frank stated.

"What?"

"You heard me, James isn't dead. Listen, I'm on the case and I wanted to tell you…"

"You are?"

"Yes, but just listen. I think you should go visit Lily…"

"You're right, she should be warned James is still alive," Sirius interrupted. "I'll be leaving immediately. She'll be overjoyed."

"James… Voldemort called her. It's how we knew he was still alive."

"Voldemort? But why would he want anything with James and Lily?"

"We don't know yet. She needs help, but if someone sees me talking to her it could end badly – for everyone. It's why I need you to go talk with her."

"Why would you do this Frank?"

"I told you, James is my friend too. And I'm only doing the right thing here."

"Well, thanks for the warning. I'll go to Lily's then."

"Yeah, you do that. I'll tell you if anything else comes up."

With that, Frank hung up and further down in London, Sirius prepared himself to leave his house in order to visit Lily.

An hour later, he would be knocking on her door.

_**AN/ Sorry for the delay, I really wanted to post yesterday but my Internet connection is shaky at best. Well, I hope you like it, and please review to let me think what you thought :)**_

_**This was written for:**_

_**-the Colors of The Rainbow OS Collection, Yellow**_

_**-the As Strong As We Are United Competition.**_


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